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Wednesday, a white man with a history of violence shot and killed two African-Americans, seemingly at random, at a Kentucky Kroger store following a failed attempt to barge into a black church.

After mail bombs were being sent to people who’d been criticized by the President, a suspect was arrested Friday — a man who had railed against Democrats and minorities with hate-filled messages online.

And Saturday morning, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11 people attending Jewish services.

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It is nearly a year since I have felt I could write again about terrorist attacks. The Squirrel Hill Massacre is an event that I cannot ignore in this blog. For any who for some reason do not know about this terror attack on US soil, know this: An American terrorist stormed a Jewish synagogue and executed 11 worshiping Jews in the midst of a naming ceremony. Police arrested the perpetrator who shouted words to the effect that all Jews must die. His crime has been termed Hate Crime by authorities. That is appropriate designation but I believe there is much more than hate crime in this event. More of my opinion about that comes below.

Before I continue with my comments about the Squirrel Hill murders, let me put some of my cards face up on the table. I am a former journalist and retired Associate Professor of Broadcasting…

While waiting on the next trial, or some good news to report about civil cases that I can blog about, I’ve been watching more movies than usual. The other night, I came upon a HBO documentary titled Valentine Road. It was released in 2013. It was deemed an Academy Award worthy documentary film by Marta Cunningham, a Black woman. The HBO description of the movie does not give it justice, but it peeked my interest enough to want to watch it.

USA Todaypraised the film as: “Haunting, heartfelt and even handed.” It recommended that “Valentine Road be required viewing in teaching tolerance on middle school and high school campuses.”

Indeed, it has. GLSEN, and the Museum of Tolerance use the film as an educational tool for school administrations.

After watching Valentine Road, I think it should also be required viewing for everyone interested in how jurors use their personal feelings, biases, and hypocritical double standards, to hang or acquit defendants in spite of evidence.

In 2008 after reading an article by the Southern Poverty Law Center about the case, Marta Cunningham embedded herself in the blue collar community of Oxnard, California. From 350 hours of footage, Cunningham packs profound interviews and information into an 89-minute documentary. Read the rest of this entry →

Three students were charged in a high-profile 2013 hate crime case at San Jose State University. They were also charged with battery for putting a bike lock around the neck Donald Williams Jr. a Black freshman. All three were found guilty of misdemeanor battery. They can serve up to six months in jail. One has escaped conviction on the hate crime charge, and the jury hung on deciding the fate of the two others. A fourth student has been charged as a juvenile in the case. There is no available information on that case.

The defendants are Colin Warren of Woodacre (20) , Logan Beaschler of Bakersfield (20), and Joseph “Brett” Bomgardner, of Clovis (21). The charges came due to varying degrees of subjecting Donald Williams Jr., who was 17, to repeated bullying that prosecutors say rose to the level of a hate crime during the fall of 2013.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office says it will consider asking for a retrial on the hate crime charges. Read the rest of this entry →

In a 16-page federal grand jury indictment, Dylann Roof, the 21-year old who killed 9 people in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, has been indicted on 33 counts of federal charged, including hate crimes, firearms violations, and obstructing the practice of religion.

U.S. Attorney General Lorette Lynch announced the charges yesterday. The federal charges are in addition to the state murder charges. The Justice Department has not decided whether it will seek the death penalty against Roof, nor whether its prosecution will come prior to the state’s case.

South Carolina does not have a state hate-crime law. AG Lynch stated that the federal charges were needed to adequately deal with a defendant that “decided to seek out and murder African-Americans because of their race.” Read the rest of this entry →

Josh Joseph went to visit his good friends Darren and Hayli Frank in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston, for the 4th of July weekend. He never expected that he was going to be offending anyone in the neighborhood by doing so. For the record, Josh is black, and his friends are white. They were celebrating the holiday out in their front yard, and one of their neighbors likely saw their black guest. When they woke up the next morning, the Franks’ $50,000 truck was covered in racist vulgarities that the vandals had spray-painted.

The Franks live in a pretty nice neighborhood. They never thought that they would be the victims of a hate crime, especially not in their area. But, as people are finding out, racism is everywhere, including places you’d least expect to find it. Even though the Franks lived in a decent area overall, Texas…

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No matter what path you walk, there is a basic truth that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control are the 9 spiritual fruits, the evidence seen in how we live – indeed, why we live. Last night in Charleston, South Carolina, people gathered in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church for prayer. Nine of them were murdered. ABC reports that at least one is in the hospital wounded.

May their spilled blood produce the fruits of righteous judgment and spring forth trees of love.

Rev. Pinckney

Reported early is that among the victims is Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, who was also a Democratic State Senator. Rev. Pinckney was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1996 at the age of 23. In 2000, at the age of 27, he was elected to the State Senate. He was one of the youngest persons and the youngest African-American in South Carolina to be elected to the State Legislature. His committee assignments included Senate Finance, Banking and Insurance, Transportation, Medical Affairs and Corrections and Penology. He and his wife Jennifer have two children.

Police say the suspect is a clean-shaven white man in his 20s, with a slender build. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and boots. Read the rest of this entry →

It happened on June 26, 2011. 18-year old Deryl Dedmon of Brandon, Mississippi decided to drive into a predominately Black area of Jackson, Mississippi for the distinct purpose of messing up Blacks. With him were John Rice, Dylan Butler, Jonathan Gaskamp, William Montgomery, Shelbie Brooke Richards and Sarah Adelia Graves.

Dedmon owned a 1998 Ford F-250 truck and those who couldn’t fit in his truck climbed into a Jeep Cherokee. They drove 16 miles to the western side of Jackson.

In the parking lot of the Metro Inn near his own truck was 49-year old James Craig Anderson. Dedmon and his group pulled into the parking lot, robbed James and repeatedly beat him. Dazed, James walked to the curb of the street, where Dedmon ran him over, killing him.

Dedmon first told the police that he pulled into the Metro Inn parking lot because he thought James was trying to steal a vehicle. What Dedmon didn’t know is that motel security cameras caught most of his and his friends’ action on video.

James Anderson

On July 6, 2011, Dedmon was arrested by the Hinds County Sheriff and charged with capital murder. Because witnesses heard racial slurs being used during and after James was beaten, the Hinds County District Attorney, Robert Shuler Smith, took the matter of capital murder and hate crime before a grand jury. On September 20, 2011, the grand jury indicted Dedmon on charges of capital murder and hate crime.

At his preliminary hearing on September 30, 2011, Dedmon entered a plea of not guilty. However, on March 21, 2012, he changed his plea to guilty for murder and a hate crime. Read the rest of this entry →

Caterpillars, butterflies, moths and all creatures great and small;

As most if not all of you know, this blog is subjected to continual racial harassment, hate-speech, and threats of defamation unless I delete this blog or change it to report solely on black-on-black crime. Word Press provides options to moderate comments. However, the perpetrators circumvent those options by using proxy IP addresses.

When the comments first started in September 2012, I ignored them as mere harassment. Then I was threatened that the perpetrators would “ruin” my reputation unless I stopped blogging. Still, I paid the threats no attention and kept minding my own business. They then made up names for me that they purported being my real names – yes, plural. They couldn’t decide what name, if any, was my real name. They ended up harming and harassing others who are not me.

Along with that, they took to posting comments on other blogs alleging that I’m “racist.” They cannot support that allegation. Their latest justification for calling me “racist” is because of the name of this blog.

Well, I just happen to like the song “Black Butterfly” by Denise Williams, the main reason is because the lyrics include that “a dream conceived in truth never dies.” All caterpillars go through the same process of transformation. Some are black, some are white, some are yellow, some are multicolored. It makes no difference.

In January 2013 after blacklisting their IP addresses, I sent complaints to their internet service providers. That stopped all besides one person who then switched internet service providers. Another complaint was sent to that internet service provider. I changed then to the option that only those with Word Press accounts could submit comments.

Miss Filth actually opened a Word Press account and blog and while continuing to submit racially offensive and threatening comments here, mocked that my efforts to stop her reduced the number of comments so either way, she thought she was winning in their effort to have this blog inactive. I sent a report to the proper authorities. The vile comments stopped and I went back to the option of allowing comments with signing-in with a handle and email address.

In or about May 2013, a comment was sent here warning that “Captain LJS” joined their group. The “Captain” boasts about using proxy IP addresses to conduct his filthy harassment while keeping his identity secret. From the comment sent here, in pertinent part:

We have also joined up with the “CaptainLJS”….and others (N*****s) and M. M******r … I am V.P. and proud to say so!!!!! THAT’S V****e!! Well I could the initials game all night. Lots more where that came from. Toodles. Approve Trash | Mark as Spam

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The U.S. Attorney’s office reports that Conrad Alvin Barrett of Katy, TX, is charged with assaulting a 79-year-old African American man in a knockout game-style attack. Barret, 27, attacked the victim because of his race, allegedly recording himself on his cell phone and showed the video to others.

ABC reports, “Barrett allegedly hit the victim with such force that he immediately fell to the ground. Barrett then laughed and said “knockout,” as he ran to his vehicle and fled, according to allegations. “

The 79-year-old victim reportedly suffered two jaw fractures and was hospitalized for several days as a result of the attack.

If convicted, Barrett faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Investigators say Barrett had been working up the “courage” to play the knockout game for about a week. According to the complaint, Barrett comments in a video that “the plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?”

On August 28, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice for the Western District of Missouri announced that an Independence, MO man and woman pleaded guilty in federal court to violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.

Logan J. Smith, and Victoria A. Cheek-Herrera

Logan J. Smith, 25, and Victoria A. Cheek-Herrera, 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to one court of conspiring to threaten and intimidate a family from exercising their constitutional right to reside in their home because of their race or color, and one count of civil rights violation for committing a racially motivated arson.

Smith waived his right to a grand jury indictment and pleaded guilty to a two-count information. Cheek-Herrera pleaded guilty to two of three counts charged in an indictment returned by the grand jury on May 23, 2013. Read the rest of this entry →